Good Dancers Warm Up and Cool Down
Ballet dancers look fragile and graceful on stage. But actually, they're well-trained athletes. Ballet dancers stretch and warm up before every practice and performance. This prepares the muscles of the body to function and move. This process helps prevent many common ballet injuries such as pulled muscles and strains. Just as important is the cool down of the muscles after practice. Gentle, relaxing stretches, along with controlled breathing, cools and allows the muscles to relax
Proper Footwear
Ballet slippers and pointe shoes must fit properly to avoid injuries to the feet, ankles and toes. Too much room in the shoes will cause the dancer to slip or rub blisters where the shoe moves around. Too tight a fit will cause circulation problems and make it unable for the dancer to perform at their best. This can lead to falling, tripping and running into things. Properly tape, wrap and protect the toes, foot arch and ankles every time before you slip on the ballet slipper or pointe shoes.
Pointe Shoes
Ballet requires strength and years of training to learn the various positions and combinations in perfect time and body form. Trying to move ahead too quickly and doing movements that a dancer is not yet strong enough to do will lead to injuries. A young ballet dancer is always anxious to go up on pointe, but she needs to be strong enough and old enough to handle the strain that pointe puts on the lower body that is still growing. If not, this will lead to injuries that could end a dance career. To avoid injuries, pointe should not be attempted unless the dancer is experienced and at least ten years of age.
All Dance Floors Are Not Created Equal
Ballet dancing involves lots of turning, jumping and leaping. That makes it extremely important to practice and perform on floors designed for just that. Dance floors look like wood floors, but good quality dance floors have padding underneath to cushion the shock of a dancer landing hard. This padding gives the dancer an extra edge against injuries. Landing hard on a floor will injure a knee or ankle very quickly if it's not the right type of dance floor.
A Healthy Lifestyle Helps Prevent Ballet Injuries
Ballet dancers need to eat healthy and lead a healthy lifestyle to lessen their chances of injuries. When the muscles of the body and heart are strong and healthy, injuries occur less often. When they do, recovery is quicker. Smoking and drinking tear down the body's strength, so avoid those. Keep healthy, stay strong and dance injury-free.
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